It's all comparative and relative!

I absolutely LOVE this!! Those who are musculoskeletal geeks like me will also find this fascinating ((including a number of my equine dentists and HCP -Whole Horse/Body nerds)). Now, many of my like minded peers understand the relevance and importance of looking at the horse (or dog/animal) as a whole functioning being. The teeth, feet, posture, and muscles are all codependent when it comes to balancing the whole. They all must be in proper alignment/balance to have a fully healthful and functioning system. Additionally, the teeth and/or hooves/feet have a direct correlation to each other and the rest of the body. This will show up in lameness, gait, and/or posture. You may have shortening or lengthening of muscles on each side, high/low in hooves, muscles in spasm, TMJ tight and out of whack. The same information can be transferred when looking at dogs. As with horses with long toes, dogs with long toenails also create stress in other parts of their musculoskeletal system. It is all comparative anatomy. Check this article out on the relevance of teeth and posture as it relates to humans. Truly fascinating information.

http://starecta.com/body-posture-depends-teeth/

Excerpt:
"Why teeth are so important for the posture? The skull is the heaviest part of our body and it is supported at the top, on the last cervical vertebra (atlas). To ensure that our head, which weighs on average 4 kg, remains at the top with the least expenditure of energy, Mother Nature has devised a very ingenious "bio-mechanical system of levers".

The question that we must ask is: "What or who is holding the skull on the last cervical vertebra?"

We will try to give you a picture of the situation.

posture skull

Until a few decades ago people believed that the skull was simply supported by the neck muscles operated by our willingness to stand upright. Over time and with the birth of gnathology science, clinical trials have shown a functional-anatomic and physiopathological link between skull-mandible (CMD) and skull-cervical dysfunctions, aggregating various areas of the body in a single tonic-postural system: the skull-cervical-mandible joint.

In short, scientific literature, or rather some pioneers in this new sector, has started to understand the role of the mandible in the human postural system, and that consequently neck and back problems are caused by skull-cervical-mandible disorders.

Having established that, we can realize that in this bio-mechanism that keeps sustained our head on top of the first cervical vertebra, the "jaw" has a vital role in supporting the skull.

It is a matter of fact that these medical-science pioneers have managed to understand, more or less, the bio-mechanism and how to act on it with the use of a bite in order to alleviate people health problems, but they have always proceeded by trial and error without ever being able to develop a proper relationship between correct body posture, jaw and teeth."